Hidden Mist Kunoichi

With Yukina

When Yukina woke up early in the morning, she took a quick bath, had some breakfast, and prepared her ninja tools.

After she put on her dark blue kimono and grabbed her katana, she exited the house.

While she was walking towards the training ground to meet with Juzo and Zabuza, she remembered how yesterday she was able to cut the waterfall in half thanks to Kotaro's advice.

Flashback

Yukina stood in front of the waterfall; she was breathing hard and sweating profusely.

She then said to herself in irritation, "Damn it, I know I am missing something, but what the hell am I missing?"

Yukina then took a deep breath to calm her mind.

After calming her mind, she began to hear a loud whistle coming from her katana, accompanied by a sharp sensation.

She quickly opened her eyes and looked at her katana, then said loudly to herself, "this feeling again? I've felt it many times; what does this feeling mean?"

Suddenly she heard footsteps behind her, and she saw Mangetsu, Rangetsu, and Kotaro walking towards her.

Yukina sighed when she saw Mangetsu and she said to him, "Mangetsu, I am busy; I don't have time to spar against you today."

Mangetsu's eyes twitched when he heard what Yukina said to him just now, but Yukina didn't care; she was totally focused on cutting the waterfall in front of her.

"SPLASH."

She swung her katana horizontally at the waterfall several times with all her strength, but no matter how much effort she exerted, she always failed to cut through the waterfall.

Kotaro narrowed his eyes at the waterfall and at Yukina, whom he was observing with interest. He then said to her, "If you continue relying only on your strength, you will never cut the waterfall in half."

When Yukina heard this, her eyes widened; she turned and looked at Kotaro.

Kotaro smirked when he saw that he had Yukina's attention, and then he asked her, "Tell me, girl, have you ever felt a sharp sensation coming from your katana?"

When Yukina heard these words, she looked stunned at Kotaro and she asked him, "how did you know?"

Kotaro was very impressed when he heard Yukina's answer and continued, "You need to comprehend that sharp sensation, and you also need to comprehend the rhythm of the waterfall or the water in general before attempting to cut it."

After Yukina heard this, she asked, "how can I do this?"

Kotaro shook his head and said to Yukina, "If one day you want to call yourself a true sword wielder, you need to discover your own path."

Yukina nodded in understanding after hearing this, she remembered that Fuguki had told her the same thing, and then she asked Kotaro, "Do you know what the whistling sound I heard coming from my katana is?"

Kotaro was shocked when he heard this and thought, "Did she really say a whistling sound? It can't be; there is no way she is touching the boundary of sword intent. She is just a child, and many swordsmen spend their whole lives training and fighting life-and-death duels without ever touching the boundary of sword intent."

He then looked seriously at Yukina and asked, "Did you just say that you heard a whistling sound coming from your katana? Are you sure about this?"

Mangetsu and Rangetsu were surprised when they saw Kotaro's expression.

Yukina nodded her head seriously and replied, "Yes. I heard this whistling sound more than once coming from my katana."

Kotaro's heart started beating faster when he heard her answer, and he said to himself, "This girl is not even 10 years old, and she started touching the sword intent first boundary. What a monstrous talent!" I made the right choice to join the Hidden Mist Village."

He then looked at Yukina with a smile and said, "I can't give you an answer, because if I did, it would insult your talent. However, if you want to evolve your swordsmanship, you will need to comprehend the whistling sound you are hearing."

After hearing these words, Yukina looked at her katana with eyes full of determination.

However, Kotaro continued by saying, "Listen, girl, don't rush things; if you do, you will regret it for the rest of your life."

Yukina, Mangetsu, and Rangetsu were surprised when they heard this, and Kotaro continued.

"Since I left the Land of Iron, I have met many talented swordsmen and geniuses; however, those swordsmen couldn't reach their full potential because they were impatient. Don't be impatient, girl; take one step at a time. If you do that, you will eventually reach your full potential and may even surpass it one day."

Yukina smiled brightly when she heard this, then bowed to Kotaro and said, "Thank you, Kotaro-san."

Kotaro nodded, and then he started walking away. After bidding farewell to Yukina, Rangetsu quickly followed Kotaro, and Mangetsu followed the two of them.

After they left, Yukina sat down cross-legged near the waterfall, placed the katana on her lap, closed her eyes, and started meditating.

Instantly, Yukina felt the sharp sensation again, but this time it was much more powerful; she sensed that this sharp sensation could cut through anything it desired.

She could feel that she was drowning in this sensation and enjoying it.

Her understanding of this sensation deepens with each passing second.

After some time, her eyes opened, and they were like two divine swords.

Yukina looked at her katana with understanding and quietly said to herself, "I now understand that this sharp sensation is not only sword rhythm, but it is the sword aura; everything in this world has its own aura."

"Now I need to comprehend the water aura so I can finally cut the waterfall."

Once she made her decision, Yukina undresses herself and plunged into the lake.

She closed her eyes again and tried to feel the aura of the water.

Yukina could feel that the aura of the water was serene, but it could also be very dangerous.

It could be as destructive as fire or as harmless as the air.

The water could take many different forms, like ice or mist; the water element is the most flexible element in the world.

Every second passed deepens Yukina's understanding of the water element, and eventually, she emerges from the lake.

Her eyes were serene, but they were incredibly sharp; they were way sharper than before.

She stood naked in front of the waterfall while grabbing her katana with her right hand.

Yukina then swung her katana slowly at the waterfall.

"SWISH."

After Yukina swung her katana at the waterfall, instantly cutting it in half.

After cutting the waterfall in half, she smiled sweetly and said to herself, "I finally did it."

End of Flashback 

Yukina found herself standing before a rushing river near the training ground.

"It will not hurt if I give the third water chakra nature exercise a couple of tries before meeting Juzo sensei and Zabuza." Yukina thought to herself.

Having made her decision, Yukina knelt, placed her hands on the flowing river, and closed her eyes.

After a moment she opened her eyes and released a large amount of water chakra.

The running river stopped instantly after Yukina released a large amount of water chakra.

After stopping the running river, Yukina smiled brightly and said to herself, "As I thought, my understanding of the aura of water helped me master this exercise and improved my mastery over the water change in chakra nature."

"Now, I only need to master the fourth water change in the chakra nature exercise to master my water affinity."

Yukina then stood up and started walking again towards the training ground to meet with Juzo and Zabuza.

______

In the training ground 

When Yukina arrived at the training ground, she saw Zabuza and Juzo waiting for her.

Juzo nodded to Yukina and said, "Good, you are not late, Yukina, as I said yesterday, today we will take a C-rank mission since Zabuza mastered the first exercise of water change in chakra nature."

Zabuza and Yukina nodded their heads and continued listening to Juzo.

"The mission is simple: a group of bandits has slaughtered nearby villagers, and we need to exterminate them. Do any of you have any questions?"

Both Zabuza and Yukina shook their heads, and Juzo nodded to them in satisfaction.

He then said to Yukina and Zabuza, "Good, let's move forward with the mission." I will only intervene if necessary; you must complete this mission alone."

Zabuza and Yukina nodded their heads and then the trio left the village.

From the shadows, Yukitaro stepped out and gave an evil smile upon seeing Yukina leave the village.

He then said to himself, "Good, Juzo fell for it. This slut will die on this mission; there is no doubt about it, especially since I spent a lot of money recruiting those rogue ninjas."

Yukitaro then turned around and started walking back to the Yuki clan mansion while smiling widely in triumph.